Sacramento daily record-union. [volume] (Sacramento [Calif.]) 1875-1891, 1887-01-01
NEVADA COUNTY.

Gold and Silver, Oranges and Apples.
Nevada is the chief mining county in the
State of California, and contains 900 square
miles. divided as follows Lower foothills
40 square miles; higher foothills and
Sierra mountains, $50 square miles. 1t is
long and narrow county, extending from
the eastern State line westward across the
high Sierras and southwestward into the
foothills: is watered chiefly by the south
and middle Yuba rivers and Elk creek on
the north, while Bear river marks the
southern boundary, all flowing west toward
the Sacramento river. Several small lakes
occur among the mountains of the east the
largest being Bonner. two miles south of
the town of Truckee. The greater portion
of the county on the east is rugged, wild
and uninhabited (the mountains in places
rising more than 600 feet above the sea-
and Is almost
EXCLUSIVELY DEVOTED To MINING OPERA
TIoNs.
The western part, or less than half the
co1nty, is not over 1000 feet. Near the
mountains its surface is very broken and
billy, the low spurs of the Sierra reaching
far westward and forming region " diver
slhed with deep ravines, knobs and dales,
rolling prairies, wooded mountains and
gently sloping hills 1t has q mixed
growth of oak and pines, occurring in
clumps, and an underground of buckeye,
-chemisal, wild lilac and manzanita."
LAUNDERING is the chief industry among
fle forests of pine, spruce, fir, tamarack,
sugar pine and cedar The soils of the up
lands comprise red loans, more or less
gravelly, or gray sandy granite lands.
Those of the bottoms and flats are often
dark alluvial lands.
The Nevada Central, a narrow-guage
railroad, connects wi tn the Central Pacific
at Colfax. The latter road also traverses
the eastern portion Of the county The
narrow guage extends from ColfaX to Grass
Valley nd Nevada City, q distance of some
"a miles.
ITS CRIEF INDUSTRY.
AS before stated. the chief industry is
mining, although farming is carried on
with profit in the western portion. The
gold is found in large and paying quanti
ties in quartz lOdeS and gravel deposits.
Until recently the latter were worked by
the hydraulic process. Nevada and Grass
Valley townships are the principal portions
in which quartz mining is carried on.
Eureka and Washington townships, further
east and higher in altitude than the two
first named, have also many valuable
quartz lodes. The mines in Grass Valley
and Nevada townships have been sys-
tematically worked and developed for
many years; those OF Washington and
Eureka townships are of late years
ATTRACTING THE ATTENTION OF CAPITALISTS
And are developing in some instances into
veritable bonanzas. At the very summit of
the mountains is Meadow lake, mining
district rich in minerals full of gold and
silver-bearing quartz, but the working OF
which has not thus far yielded satisfactory
returns. The ore is what is termed re-
fractory In that district some score of
years ago a large town sprung up almost in
a day, because Of the mining excitement
and the richness of the deposits. The
town went down as quickly as it came up,
however. not because there was q lack of
the precious metals, but because they could
not be worked to a profit by any method
known to modern mining. Fortunes have
been spent in experiments, but the gold and
silver that lies there in abundance is so
mixed with base metals. that the miner
finds it
USELESS To ATTEMPT ITS EXTRACTION,
And had to abandon it. During the past
few months some scientific gentlemen have
gone there with a new process, which, it is
claimed, will be operated with success. If
this proves true Meadow Lake will become
an important and populous district.
A deposit of silver in paying quantities
while copper mines have been worked with
profit within its borders for many years.
In the western part of the county are found
iron and limestone in great abundance.
THE CLIMATE.
The altitude of the county, varying as 1t
does from a few feet to upward of 5000
necessarily gives it a great variety OF
climate. In the western portion frost is a
thing of rare occurrence, while at the sum-
nit of the Sierras-at Meadow Lake, for
instance-scarcely a night passes without
at least a frost 1t rarely SHOWS below
Rough and Ready, and at an altitude of
$500 feet the snowfall is very slight, and
lies but few days upon the ground; but
on the summit it often falls to the depth of
twenty feet The winters are not SO cold
by far, even at these highest attitudes,
as in
THE SAME LATITUDE on THE EASTERN COAST.
The rain is much heavier in all the foothill
regions of the Sierras than in the Sacra-
mento valley. At Nevada City. the county
seat, the average rainfall is 80 inches. The
climate of the greater part of this county IS
equable, and none in the world can be said
to be superior 10 that of its lower foothills,
where the apple and peach, prune and
plum. fig and olive, orange and lemon, all
the smaller berries. and in fact every fruit
that can be grown anywhere in the Union,
grows in abundance and luxurianee. These
fruit crops are a certainty every year, and
the excellence of the production insures
the highest prices in the market. In the
higher attitudes the apple produced is OF
unsurpassed quality, and bears unlimited
quantities.
Lands can be purchased in quantities to
suit for from 81 so to $50 per acre. Large
quantities Of Government land, lying on
the more mountainous section, and heavily
tmbered, are yet untaken. The county
has many prosperous towns, among which
are Nevada City, Grass Valley, Campton-
vile and Truckee. Its public schools are
equal to the best in the State; its people
are energetic, industrious and hospitable.
LUMBER INTERESTS.
The Truekee river, on the eastern slope
of the Sierras-the outlet of Lake Tahoe
runs through the eastern portion OF the
county 1t is large, clear stream, full of
the finest trout in the world, some OF them
weighing as much as thirty pounds. In
this section the mountains are heavily tim
bered with forests of the various kinds of
nine. spruce fir, cedar and tamarack.
Several very large mills are here engaged
in the manufacture of lumber doors,
sashes. blinds, etc. The mills are of very
large capacity The Central Pacific Rail
road, running through the town. takes
thousands OF carloads annually from these
mills to different portions OF California,
Nevada. Utah. Arizona, New Mexico and
Texas. This trade is the most important
in a commercial point of view, OF any IN
the county. and supports town OF about
1000 inhabitants.
NAPA COUNTY.